Records say deputy fired for ‘poor attendance’

Vatisha Evans-Barken was fired from her job as a criminal investigator with the Madison County Sheriff’s Office last September because of poor attendance, according to documents in her personnel file.

Evans-Barken is claiming wrongful termination and is appealing her case to the county’s Civil Service Commission. A hearing scheduled for last week was postponed. A new date has not been set for the hearing.

Evans-Barken wrote a letter to Madison County commissioners last April saying that she planned to file a grievance because her supervisor retaliated against her and created a hostile work environment after she contacted the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

According to records in her personnel file, Evans-Barken was terminated Sept. 2 after she failed to return from medical leave.

According to the records, “She exhausted all of her sick leave, annual leave, and unpaid FMLA. There was no leave available for a continued absence, and she was unable to return to work.”

The reasons marked on her termination report are “poor attendance” and “other.”

The file included a letter, delivered to Evans-Barken on Sept. 2, informing her of the reason for her termination. The letter said she had been absent from work since April 29.

The Civil Service Commission is in place to protect employees from wrongful termination.

If fired, employees have the ability to appeal their case before the three-member commission. Each side will have their say, and the commission will make a majority decision on whether or not termination was warranted.

Of the three members, one is selected by the Sheriff's Office and two are selected by the County Commission.